The effect of varying fatty acid composition in a High-Fat Meal and its impact on postprandial airway inflammation

The Western Diet is typically high in saturated fats (SF) or omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (O6FA) with insufficient amounts of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (O3FA). When chronic, this diet has been associated with an increased risk of respiratory diseases. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of varying the fatty acid composition of an acute High-Fat Meal (HFM) on postprandial airway inflammation. METHODS: Fifteen individuals [6 M, 9 F; body mass index (BMI) = 25.3 ± 6.6 kg/m2] consumed three HFM smoothies separated by at least 48 hours. The three smoothies were high in SF, O6FA, and O3FA and were standardized to 12 kcal/kg body weight, 63% total fat, and 0.72 g/kg sugar. Airway inflammation was measured using exhaled nitric oxide (eNO), airway function was measured using pulmonary function tests, airway resistance was measured using impulse oscillometry (iOS), and blood triglycerides (TG) and glucose were collected at baseline, 2h and 4h postprandially. RESULTS: There was no difference in eNO across time in any condition or between conditions (p\u3e0.05). FEV1 was increased from baseline to 2h postprandially in the O6FA (p=0.038) and SF-HFM (p \u3c0.001). O6FA was 2.7% higher O6FA compared to that of SF at 4h postprandially (p=0.04). TG increased from baseline to 2h in all conditions (p\u3c0.001) and continued to trend upwards in the SF-HFM and toward baseline in the PUFA HFMs. CONCLUSION: An acute HFM did not elicit an airway inflammatory response for any condition. Different fatty acid compositions do not appear to impact eNO during the postprandial period